RECIPIENTS
Bill Spoor ‘92, Michael Robinson ‘05, and Aaron Maybin ‘09
BILL SPOOR ‘92
FOUNDER OF HAPPY VALLEY UGANDA
Bill graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1992 with BS in Finance, a minor in Environmental Resource Management, and as a varsity letterman in football. In 1995, he graduated from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University, going on to earn his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1998. From 1995 to 2007, Bill worked at Merrill Lynch as a Managing Director with the Global Markets and Investment Banking Group. From 2007 to 2018, he worked with Goldman Sachs in New York, NY as a Managing Director in the Leveraged Finance Group. Since leaving Goldman, Bill has formed an agricultural business in New Jersey called Underground Farms which focuses on harnessing data to promote the responsible practices of local farmers.
Bill is also a commercial, instrument and multi-engine rated pilot, a skill that grants him access to the rural outposts of Africa. Happy Valley Uganda, Inc. was formed in 2008 and launched in 2011 by Bill and Elke Spoor as a high-impact educational initiative that gives the children of southwestern Uganda a pathway out of poverty. The founding objective is to provide intellectually capable children with a challenging secondary school education, real-world life skills and the strong character that results from Christian values.
In 2014, HVU was designated an official Community Based Organization by the Ugandan government, in recognition of its strong track record promoting academic excellence among the region’s most vulnerable children. With CBO status, Happy Valley Uganda can access even higher levels of organizational support as it pursues its educational objectives. Since the Spoors absorb 100% of overhead costs, every dollar of fundraising flows directly through to HVU’s projects.
This mission of Happy Valley Uganda, Inc. is being achieved by means of two complementary projects. The Enrichment Program: the EP is a weekly tutoring program that gives 90 seventh-grade girls and boys the academic support they require for admission to secondary school, in a Christian environment. The Happy Valley Academy: still in its planning stages, HVA will be a co-educational school that provides a high quality, tuition-free, six-year Christian secondary school education to 540 young Ugandans.
MICHAEL ROBINSON ‘05
FOUNDER OF EXCEL EXCELLENCE
Michael Robinson founded Excel to Excellence as a public charity in 2010 to address his concern for children that were getting left behind in our society. A native of Richmond, Virginia Michael Robinson attended Penn State. He played quarterback and wide receiver at Penn State University and led the team to a Big Ten Conference title and an Orange Bowl Championship title in 2005. He finished 5th in the Heisman voting that year and was named the Big Ten MVP and the National College Player of The Year by Sports Illustrated On Campus Magazine. He was drafted by the 49ers in the 2006 NFL Draft and played 8 seasons with the 49ers and Seahawks. He was named to the 2012 Pro Bowl and won Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014. Michael is currently one of the lead analysts for NFL Media and NFL Network.
The initial activity for the organization was the annual Michael Robinson Youth Football Camp and Community Day. The boys and girls football camp provides a rare opportunity for children ages 8 to 16 to interact and receive coaching from professional athletes and area coaches.
The first academic program developed under Excel to Excellence is its current signature program, TEAM EXCEL. The program uses a fun and exciting "reverse fantasy football" model to motivate students to succeed in the classroom and life. Students are placed on teams and compete based on their GPA, attendance and community service hours. In addition to the fun competitive nature of the program, the curriculum includes life skills, career exploration and service-learning projects. The initial pilot program for TEAM EXCEL was launched at Varina High School in January of 2014. The program now serves over 200 students across four schools. The long-term vision is to create a National TEAM EXCEL League where students across the country compete based on grades, attendance and community service hours.
The latest development for Excel to Excellence is the acquisition of the former Varina Area Library. Henrico County gifted the building to the organization and it is being transformed into a learning center for youth and adults in the community.
AARON MAYBIN ‘09
Aaron Maybin is an Artist-Activist and former professional football player from Baltimore City, Maryland. Selected as the 11th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills as a former All-American defensive end at Penn State University. Aaron went on to play in the NFL for the New York Jets and the Cincinnati Bengals in a 5-year career before making the decision to walk away from football to pursue a career as a professional artist, activist, author, educator and community organizer.
FOUNDER OF PROJECT MAYHEM
His transition from full-time NFL superstar to full-time artist and philanthropist has been extensively covered by ESPN, CBS, Fox, and garnered an HBO documentary warmly received by critics. His art, photography, and writing have been exhibited in Galleries and museums internationally, examining many socially relevant themes and issues, drawn from his own personal experiences as a pro athlete and growing up as a young Black man in America. Aaron uses his public platform and artistic voice to advocate for racial and economic equality, arts education, and recreational youth programming in underprivileged communities across the country.
In 2009, Aaron established Project Mayhem to provide aid, both personal and economic, to help underprivileged and at risk youth excel beyond their current conditions. Through his work with Project Mayhem and as a teacher, Aaron has implemented art workshops and curricula into many Schools in the Baltimore City area that have had budget cuts due to a lack of state funding. Aaron teaches creative arts and literacy in Baltimore public schools, created his Art Activism Curriculum (being taught in several Baltimore City Schools), and also Co-founded the Operation Heat Campaign, raising money for schools struggling with heating issues in the wintertime.
Aaron is a Fox45 Martin Luther King Jr. Champion of Courage Award recipient, a Baltimore Arts Realty Corporation executive board member, and a member of the newly appointed Mayor’s Transition team, serving on the Arts & Culture Committee. As an Arts teacher in the city, he continues to advocate for public policy to see Art programs restored in schools and more economic opportunities to be provided for the underprivileged people of Baltimore.